on the response of the society for it to work, allofushaveto respond with fear and hysteria. so far we're doing just that. i don't mean to suggest by this that the system worked, obviously, it didn't. when u.s. officials got information from the terrorist father, they should have immediately checked if he had a visa or put him on a no-fly list. they should not have allowed him to enter a plane with a bomb. these will be fixed. there will be more mistakes uncovered over the years as we continue to go through this process and we must have the ability to calmly, seriously and effectively react to these problems, improve the system so that it gets better and better every year rather than going crazy. the atmosphere in washington these days, the media calls the political wrangling, the calls for head, these are all indications of panic and partisanship and overreacting will produce the worst policy responses large broad brush expensive efforts and get the military involved in every place that claims they have al qaeda and these might not be the most effective fixes. we need less grandstandi